Family Is Just A Word
by DanniMitchell85
Summary: She had prayed for someone to save him, but in the end he had come to her rescue. While on a hunt John Winchester crosses paths with a young girl, and takes her in. She soon finds out that 'Family' is nothing more then a word. NOT John/OC! Sam or Dean/OC
1. Chapter 1

Authors Notes: Yeah I know another story to work on… but know that I haven't given up on the others. The plot of this story has been bugging me and I thought that if I got a chapter out that it would leave me alone for a while so that I could work on the others… we'll see if it works.

I hope that you enjoy this new story and please let me know what you think. I have the plot down but as for the couple I'm not sure. It's going to be my new character Nikki, with either Sam or Dean. I'll be placing a poll on my profile so that you can all vote. (I love both brothers so much and it's really hard for me to pick which one she should end up.) It'll be a few chapters before it gets to that point, but I would love to hear what you all think.

Check out my profile page to get a look at what Nikki looks like, and don't forget to vote!

Also if you are a 'Beta Reader' and would like to work with me, please let me know. I'm looking for a good Beta to help me out with this story and others.

Family Is Just a Word

Chapter ONE: Rescue

Chapter Rating: R (Violence, and Adult Subject Mater)

The overwhelming pungent stench of the prier day's trash hung thickly in the humid air, something that Nikki had yet to grow accustomed to. Huddled between the massive dumpster that was emitting the foul scent and the nasty grim covered brick wall, she wrapped her worn and torn jacket over herself to try and blend into the mass of litter and filth that was surrounding her.

Knowing that once the warm glow of the sun was gone the unoccupied alley that she had taken to call home for the last few weeks wouldn't be as abandoned as she had once thought. She had learned her first night in the gangway that it was best for her to stay out of site, and stay hidden.

She hadn't been on her own and living the glamorous life of a vagabond for long, and it was most definitely not her choice, but she found that it was highly imperative that she keep her noise down and eyes glued to the ground.

Her short time living on the streets had also taught her that there where things out in the world that wanted nothing more than to cause harm and destruction.

The unmistakable sound of heavy boots echoed off the backstreet walls and she knew whoever was making their way down the narrow path was more than likely a newcomer. She couldn't help herself from sending a small prayer up to the heavens that whoever this stranger was, would either keep moving, or find themselves a hiding spot.

Preferably away from her.

The lack of natural light was all she needed to know that _they_ would be coming out any time. She wasn't sure what _they_ where, and the best name she could think of was bloodsucker.

The name 'Vampire' just didn't seem right; it seemed cheese and something out of a bad teen novel. These things, whoever or whatever they where, where very much real and Nikki didn't want to risk a run in with them.

Lifting her head slightly to look around the large rusty trash bin, she couldn't believe that the newcomer was just standing there, as if he was waiting for something.

'_Or someone'_ She thought to herself.

As much as she didn't want to see anyone else get hurt or die by those things again, she knew that she couldn't worn him or do anything to help him, not in her condition. She couldn't give away her location. The desire to help the stranger and tell him to run and hide was pulling at her, but her need to protect herself from harm was outweighing the demand to save a life.

Biting her lower lip, she couldn't help the prickle that began to sting the back of her eyes. She knew that she was going to be witness to this man's death, and she wasn't going to be able to stop it, just like she wasn't able to stop the others before him.

Leaning back against the now cooling brick wall and taking a deep breath, Nikki began to pray that someone would put a stop to this. She knew that there was a loving and just God, and as much as she didn't understand why he allowed certain things to happen, she knew that he was the only one who would be able to help put a stop to the evil that took over the passage way each night.

The sound of voices talking pulled her out of her silent prayer and she couldn't help herself as she once again looked down to see what was going on. She was shocked to see that the strange man was still standing and was talking to the group of bloodsuckers. As he held his ground he began to pull something from behind his back.

The lack of light and the distance was enough to prevent her from seeing what he was uncovering, but the outcry and reaction of the group was all she needed to know that it was some kind of weapon. Not able to watch as the man fought for his life, she kept her head down and took up her prayer where she had left off.

The sickening sound of a body hitting the dirty ground forced the tears to fall freely from her eyes and she could only hope that the poor man wasn't made to suffer. However when she heard the sound a second time, followed by a third, she peeked around the corner to see that it hadn't been the man who had fallen, but rather one of the group members.

Unable to process what she was seeing, she only looked on with awe and amazement as the strange man seemed to take down each and every one of them without a fault. It was only when he was leaning over one of the bodies that she saw a shadow creep up behind him.

"Look out!" She cried, not able to watch him die after he had been able to rid the alley and town of such a malevolent and nefarious group.

Not expecting him to look her direction, she could only look on as the shadow moved in closer and took the opportunity to strike. Covering her mouth with her hands to stifle her scream, she watched as the attacker knocked the man clearly into the air and slammed him into the brick wall. A clanking echoed though out the alley and she knew that he had dropped whatever weapon he had been using.

The sound of bones braking and the disturbing gurgling that was coming from the broken man, who had easily taken down the mass of murders without so much as a hiccup, was now facing his end. It was clear to Nikki that unless someone steps in he was going to die. The shadow wasn't showing any signs that he was going to stop his assault on the intruder.

She hadn't meant to distract him and the overwhelming sense of responsibility for his predicament forced her to break her number one rule that she had set for herself.

Don't get involved.

It was a simple rule and it was because of that one guideline that she had made it this far in her new life as a drifter, but she wasn't one to run away from a situation just because it was difficult.

Removing herself from her hidden spot she stood to her full height of five foot four inches, and began to walk forward, praying the whole way.

'Please God, give me strength.' She whispered over and over in her head, thinking that even if she where to pray to loudly that they beast would turn around and see her coming up behind him.

Opening her eye's ,not even knowing that she had closed them, she meat the stair of the man who was being help to the wall. Puffy swelling had already began to rise where he had been hit mutable times, and she was sure that his cheek bone was broken.

His forest green eyes locked onto hers, and then glanced down over to the ground by her feet. Taking his hint, she looked down and saw a bloodied machete.

Bending down slowly as to not gain the attention of the monster that had his back to her, she picked it up.

"Are you ready to die Hunter?" The chilling voice asked the man, and she could only guess as to why the man was smiling at his attacker.

"I'm not the one who is going to be dying tonight you ugly-bloodsucking-bastard." His voice said in a clam rugged tone. She didn't miss him glancing her way, and she knew right away what his plan was.

Distraction.

Once the brute of a man turned around and took sight of the young girl behind him, with the machete in her shacking hands, he dropped his previous victim and advanced on his new target.

For the first time Nikki was able to get a clear look at the man before her. It was evident that she was right when she had thought that they weren't normal. She could see in his disturbing bloodshot eyes that there was something very wrong him, and the fear that was building up from her chest told her that she was looking at something that God had no hand in creating.

"Well aren't you a pretty little thing." His said, moving closer to her. He could smell the fear on her, and had no doubt that she would go down easy.

"Please, don't hurt him anymore." She said, surprising herself at the straight behind her voice. Taking a step back, she looked behind the beast and saw that the man was already on his feet and had pulled out what looked like a syringe. Before she knew what was going on, he rushed forward and shoved the needle in his neck and released the contents by pushing the plunger on the syringe down.

Screaming in agony and pain, the monster turned and faced the man once again. Nikki took that moment to toss the blade to the man, and watched as he caught it, and in the same movement, cut off the head of the inhuman man before them.

Seeing the blood and body fluids squirting out from the severed neck, mixed with the metallic stench, was more then she could handle. The burning acid of her stomach sprang from her month before she could try and calm it down. Bending over and hugging her knees she allowed the vomit to flow free of her. There was nothing that she could hold back now. Her stomach was still trying to rid itself of every last drop of fluid and her eyes seemed to think that it was a good idea to release the flood gates.

Throwing up and crying, she wasn't expecting to feel a warm hand on her shoulder. Unable to look up, she felt him hold back her hair and rub her back. Once she was sure she was done purging her body, she looked over and saw a hand holding out a bottle of water.

"Rinse out your mouth, then take a drink." He said in a soothing tone, but she heard the underling order.

Doing as he told her, she made herself stand up and looked to see the man who had just killed monsters like she had read in her old childhood books.

Before her stood a tall and rouged man, who had a little more than a five o'clock shadow creeping on his face. His right side of his face was broken, bloody and bruised, and she could tell by the way that he was standing that he had a few injured ribs.

"What is a young lady like yourself doing in a hell hole like this? Shouldn't you be home right now?" He asked her.

Looking down at the water bottle in her hands and then looking around to the corner that she had been hiding in, she met his eyes. "This is home Sir."

Shock was something that she felt he didn't openly show often, and the fact that he was now looking at her like she had grown an extra head, she knew she was right.

"This is no place for you." She could hear the disapproval in his voice.

Again looking down, Nikki couldn't help but wipe the tears from her face. "I don't have anywhere else to go."

Not about to leave her alone in a dark alley with five beheaded bodies, he took a hold of her arm to get her to look at him. "Grab whatever you have."

Not fully understanding what he was thinking she did as he asked, or told, her to do. Walking back over to the dumpster and picking up her jacket and her small pack, she looked to find the man wiping the blood of his blade off on one of the bodies.

Standing up once she was close, he looked back and saw what little she had. It broke his heart to see someone so young and innocent living like this. He couldn't help but wonder how long she had been staying in the gangway, and how long she had been on her own.

It wasn't hard to tell that under all the dirt and grime that covered her face there was a beautiful girl, and with the knowledge that he had, he knew what would happen to her if she was to stay in this area for long, if it hadn't already.

Without a word he began to walk back to where he parked his truck and was glad when he heard he soft steps behind him. Walking over to the large 1986 step-side GMC Sierra Grande, he unlocked the passenger side and motioned for her to get in.

At seeing the oversized truck the name Truckzilla came to mind and she tucked it in the back of her mind. She didn't want to insult the man who she was beginning to see as a real everyday hero. Doing as he asked and stepping up into the cab of the truck, she couldn't stop the jump that went though her at the sound of the door closing behind her.

It was only a few minutes later when he climbed up into the driver's side and started the truck. Looking over at her, he didn't miss that she had a death grip on her pack, it was clear that she was unsure of what was going to happen to her.

"You got a name kid?" He asked.

"Nicolette, but I go by Nikki." She said leaning back into the seat of the truck.

"I'm John." He said as he pulled the truck onto the main road. "Do you think that you stomach has settled down enough to get something to eat?" He asked her. Despite the fact that she was covered head to toe with clothing, even in the heat, he could tell that she hadn't eaten in a few days. When she had been vomiting, it had been nothing but bile.

"Um, I can try." She said looking down. She didn't want to worry him, and tell him about her condition. It was because of it that she hadn't been able to keep anything down for the last few weeks and as much as she knew that she had to keep trying, she had given up on food and stuck to water.

They drove for a while before they come to a stop at an old run down inn. Panic took over and she found it hard to breath.

"Nikki?" She heard him call out to her, but she wasn't able to respond. She was frozen in fear and she didn't think anything would get her out of her own nightmare.

'_Come on Nikki you'll like it…'_ The voice called out to her in her head. No matter how many time she told herself that it wasn't going to happen again, that _he_ couldn't hurt her again, the memory was still too fresh in her mind.

'_Stop fighting me Nikki!'_

"Nikki?" She was brought out of her fright filled thoughts as a cool wash cloth was pressed over her forehead. Looking around her, she saw that she was no longer in the truck, but inside a room, sitting on the single bed in the room.

The panic took over again, and it almost got a hold of her fully before a gentle hand rubbed her back.

"Nikki, you need to calm down. Nothing is going to hurt you. You're safe." John kept saying over and over, his rough voice surprisingly soothing.

He knew that she was having a panic attack and that for whatever reason it was caused by seeing the small inn that he had been staying at. He didn't need her to tell him what had happened to her in order for her to be thins upset and fearful of a hotel. He was a smart man, and she was a young very good looking girl.

Handing her the water bottle from earlier he told her to take a few good drinks of the refreshing liquid to help calm her down.

"Honey, is there someone I can call for you?" He asked. He found it hard to believe that she didn't have any family.

"No." She answered softly.

"You don't have any family or anything?" He asked, kneeling down in front of her.

"They don't want me anymore." She found herself telling him. There was something about him, and she found herself telling him the truth. "The kicked me out and disowned me."

As a father, John couldn't even begin to understand how a family could disown their own child. It was true that he and his boys didn't always see eye to eye, and him and Sam would go head to head on just about everything, but he was proud of both his boys, and there was nothing that he wouldn't do to make sure they were safe.

"I find it hard to believe that they really meant it." He said, trying to reassure her.

Wiping the fresh tears away from her face, she looked up to his eyes. "When they found out I was pregnant they told me I could 'deal' with it, or get out." She said, as new fresh hot tears took over her vision.

The shock at hearing that the young girl…no women was in fact carrying her own child, had been enough to knock him on his butt. Looking up to her from his new spot on the ground of the dingy inn, he could see the hurt and pain in her eyes.

"Doesn't it take two to tango?" He asked. As much as he couldn't help but want to comfort her, he couldn't help but think that she had to know that it was bound to happen in a result of getting carried away with desire.

"I didn't have much say in the matter." Nikki said as she looked down into her hands again. It has hard to admit that she had been a victim, and as much as she wanted everything to go back to normal, there was no way that she would 'deal' with the life growing inside of her. Her mother and father had even told her that they would pay for the procedure.

Everything made since now. Why she was afraid of the room, why she was easy to panic, she had been forced to do something she hadn't wanted to. Now she was left to deal with the outcome, alone and by herself. Knowing that it would be best to not push matters more, he stood up and walked over to his duffle bag and pulled out a change of clothing.

"The shower is small, but it had hot water." He said handing her a pair of workout shorts and an oversized shirt.

Understanding what he was saying, Nikki stood up and walked over to the small bathroom. After looking back to John, the man who had taken her in, she couldn't help but smile.

She had prayed for someone to save him, but in the end he had come to her rescue.

Authors Notes: Why is it that the 1st chapters are always the hardest to write? I hope that you all liked it so far! I hope that I can get the next chapter out soon, but please understand that I want to take my time and make sure that I'm doing the story justice. Again if you are a Beta and would like to help me I would love to talk to you.

A special thank you to .com for being the best Supernatural fan site out there.

Don't forget to go to my profile and check out the poll and vote!

(Please Review)


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Notes:** Just to clear a few things up, this is going to be a slight AU story line. Yes I'm going to keep it as close as I can to the events that happened throughout the seasons, but understand that I am going to change a few things along the way to make it new and fresh, or it would just bore you all and you would know what was going to happen…and where is the fun in that?

Thank you to Rayne91, Mary Izzy Dakota, and nichole23, I hope that you enjoy this chapter.

Again, please let me know what you all think about it and let me know who you would like to see Nikki end up with…Sam or Dean. (I have a vague idea of who it's going to be… but I would love to hear what you all think.)

**! WARNING!** This chapter is going to get into more about why Nikki is out on her own. Be warned that there is adult subject matter, and if you have a problem with reading about forced sex, please skip over this chapter. As much as it help you, the reader, understand where she is coming from, it won't leave you lost and confused for the rest of the story. **! END WARNING!**

**Family Is Just a Word**

**Chapter TWO:** The Reason for the Nightmare

**Chapter Rating:** R (Violence, and Adult Subject Matter)

**~*~*~ Two Months Earlier~*~*~ **

"Come on Aaron; tell me where we're going?" Nikki asked as she tried to pull at the blindfold that was preventing her from seeing where her boyfriend was driving them.

They had only been seeing each other for two weeks, and she was glad that she had found someone who was just a goofy and outgoing as she herself was. She enjoyed all the time that they would spend together just doing silly things, and not carrying what the others around them thought.

With a laugh the twenty year old male pulled her hands away from the veil that was covering her bright blue eyes. "Now it wouldn't be a surprise if I let you know beforehand. Now would it?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just hope that there is something to eat once the ride-of-the-blind is over." She said, rubbing her hand over her stomach. He had picked her up from work and had told her that he had something to show her, and because of the kooky grin on his face, she had jumped into his jeep, willing to go along with him.

She couldn't deny the fact that she had a little feeling of uneasiness in the very lower part of her stomach when he had leaned over and began to place the cloth over her eyes, but she was quick to label it 'the-happy-jitters' and went along with it.

"Yeah don't worry; food will be the last thing on your mind." He said with a deep chuckle.

Nervousness took over again and she couldn't help but push the anxiousness down. 'Maybe he's taking me to a really nice place to eat?' She thought to herself as she recalled what she was wearing.

Working at a clinic didn't allow for a large selection that still fit the dress code. There were only so many different colors that shrubs where available in… and the light sea foam green ones that she still had on wouldn't be the best to wear into a nice establishment.

Feeling the jeep coming to a stop she made to remove the cloth over her eyes, only to have him stop her once again. "Not yet Nikki."

"Fine." She said, leaning her head back on the headrest of the seat. She was trying to act like she didn't care at this point, but she really wanted to see where they were.

Hearing his door open and close, she leaned over to her side and tried to open her door, only to have it open for her.

"Here let me help you." He offered as he took her hands in his much larger ones and guided her out of the vehicle.

"Oh so now you're being a gentleman? Where was this side of you when I slipped the other day?" She asked, recalling the time just a few days ago when she had fallen victim to an invisible puddle. He had turned around just in time to see her land on her backside and just laughed at her bad luck.

"Hey, I helped you up." He said in his defense, laughing at the memory.

"Yeah, after you stood there and laughed at me for ten minutes." She said as she felt him stand to her left. His right hand rested on her lower back as he kept a hold of her right hand with his left. He led her up a curb and told her of every little crack in the concrete as they made their way to where ever he was taking them.

She heard the unlocking of a door, and the insecure feeling returned with force. "Aaron?" She called out to him. She was sure that he could hear the nervousness in her voice.

"Shh, it's ok Nikki. Trust me you're going to love this." He said to reassure her as he guided her into a new room.

The smell that assaulted her was too strong and she found herself covering her nose with her hand. The degusting funk of mold, dirt, mildew, and who knows what else, was almost over powering enough to bring tears to her eyes.

"What is that lovely aroma? I hope that's not my surprise." She asked, still trying to hold her breath. She knew from working in the clinic that when you smelt something, you where inhaling the particles of whatever was giving off the odor. She didn't want to inhale anything that reeked this bad.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It's the best I could do." He said as he moved to take off the veil.

Opening her eyes as soon as the cover was off her looked around to find herself in a very dingy, very run down 'no-tell' motel. Looking over to Aaron, she didn't miss the look of satisfaction that took over his face.

"Aaron, I don't get it? Why are we here?" She asked. Part of her was hoping that the answer was something sweet and innocent like, 'oh I thought that you would like to watch a move without your father hovering over us.' However the realistic side of her knew that it wasn't that easy, that that was not what he had planned.

Walking over to the bed, he sat down and patted the cover next to him. "Come sit down. You've had a long day dealing with the sick and patching up boo-boos. It's time for you to relax."

When she didn't make a move to follow his instructions he stood up and walked back over to her, pulling her over to the bed. With a little force he pushed her onto the bed causing her to fall back, taking the opportunity of her shock to crawl over her, pinning her to the bed.

"Aaron this isn't funny, get off." She said. It was clear to her now what he was trying to do and what his surprise was.

"Just relax." Leaning in he took her lips with his, enjoyed the soft feeling.

Pushing him away from her, she tried to roll over and off the bed. Her goal was to get off the bed, maybe then she could talk to him, get him to listen to her. Once she was standing again, she looked up to see the angry look on the man's face in front of her.

Aaron was still on the bed, lying on his side and it was clear that he was not happy, not at all.

"Aaron, I told you that I don't want to do anything with you. It's too soon."

"We've been going out for two damn weeks Nikki. I've been holding off for two God damn weeks!" He yelled at her, showing a side of him that she hadn't even know was hidden inside of him.

"I told you when we first started going out that I was waiting till I found the right guy! It takes a little longer than two weeks to see if I want to give myself to someone!" She couldn't help but shout back. She didn't understand what the deal was, she thought that he understood.

Getting off the bed and taking a deep breath, he walked over to her. "Your right, I'm sorry." He said leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. Thinking that the misunderstanding was over she told herself to calm down, that nothing was going to happen.

"You did tell me, and you know what?" He asked as he looked into her eyes, a smile on his lips.

"What?" She asked as she smiled back at him.

"I don't give a fuck what you want." He said throwing her back on the bed. "I've been waiting and I've been a good boy." He advanced on her. "Now I'm going to just take it."

Crawling over the bed trying to reach the other side she could only watch on as the kind, goofy man she thought that she had been dating turned into a monster of a man.

"Come on Nikki, you'll like it…. Stop fighting me." He said to her in a sickly sweet voice. Pulling on her legs he forced her to come closer to him. Without much effort on his part he untied the drawstring that was holding her scrub pants on and tugged them down.

Tears where now falling freely from her eyes as she felt him undressing her. "Please stop, Aaron please don't do this!" She begged him, but the plea landed on deaf ears. She tried to fight him off, but she had never been very strong, and it only resulted in him holding her hands above her head, pinning her down.

With his free hand he tugged her top up and over her breast, pulling her bra with the thin layer of clothing. A chill ran through her as the cool air spread across her bear skin, her tears fell harder.

Not willing to give up she fought him harder, trying to roll side to side, anything that would halt his progress.

"Stop fighting me Nikki!" He barked at her. His large hands taking her left breast and squeezing the soft skin harshly.

"Please don't!" She screamed, hoping that someone would hear her cries.

"Fine, you want to roll over so bad," He said to her. "Then we'll roll you over." And with that he rolled her over and onto her stomach, using the move to place his knee in between her legs, spreading them apart.

Her fear increased now that she couldn't see anything, only the sound of his zipper sliding down told her that he was really going to carry through with his plan.

"NO!" She screamed as she felt his hands start to touch her, playing with her.

Leaning in he whispered into her ear. "You're so wet. You can scream all you want, but I know you want it."

Before she could say anything in response to him, she let out a loud cry as the pain ripped through her. She knew that the first time wasn't supposed to be the best feeling for the women, but she had no idea that it was going to be so painful and excruciating.

The tight force that was pushing itself into her body was large and hot, she could feel herself ripping apart and tearing on the inside. Sobs took over her body as she could only lay still and hope that the pain would ease.

"God you feel so good." Aaron said, trying to sound kind and caring, but she knew that he wasn't thinking about her, he was only thinking of himself and his lust.

Taking a deep inhale of air she hoped that the throbbing would stop, it had to. Before she could take a second breath he pulled himself out, and for a moment she thought that it was over, but she had been wrong.

Slamming his hardened manhood into her again, he didn't wait to give her time to adjust to feeling. Again and again he pulled himself out only to grind himself back into her. To Nikki it felt like hours, and she could only pray that he would end the horrible act soon.

Her voice had given out and she could no longer cry, the grunts and groans coming from the man who was violating her was enough to tell her that he was building up to his release.

Feeling the shutter of his body as it connected to hers, she knew that it was over. Pulling himself out of her and laying down on the bed next to her, he smiled at her. "See I told you, you would like it." He said reaching out to push the hair out of her face. "I sure did."

Shrinking away from his hands she curled up into a little ball. "Please…" She begged.

Setting up Aaron pulled himself back into his pants and stood up, looking down to her. "Yeah, Nikki, I don't think it's going to work out between us. As much fun as we had," He laughed. " I just don't see this being a long term thing." He said with a sick smile and picked up his keys that he left on the small table by the door.

"I'll see you around." And with that he walked out the door, leaving her curled up on the bed crying and broken.

Not knowing how long it had been she knew that she had to get home. Her mom and dad would be worrying about her soon, and she had no clue as to what she was going to tell them. Not wanting them to see her in such a state of shock and pain, she pulled out her phone and called her friend who also happened to be a doctor who worked at the clinic.

"Steph," She said into the phone when she heard her friend pick up.

"Nikki! Where have you been? Your dad called a while ago asking if you got off work yet, He's worried sick." The older women said over the line. "Nikki? Are you ok?"

Not able to hold back the emotion that was overwhelming her; she cried openly into the phone. "No."

The doctor in her came out right away. "Nicolette, where are you?" She asked.

Looking around and finding the name of the motel she was taken too she told her friend, knowing that she would be there in a hurry to take care of her.

Once she was sure that help was on the way, she tried to roll over and set up, only to have intense pain shoot through her abdomen. Crying out in agony she stopped moving and lay in wait for help. She wasn't sure how much time had passed and when there came a knock from the door she couldn't help but shrink back into herself.

'What if he came back?' She thought as she looked to the door.

"Nikki! It's me, open up." Came the safe voice of Steph.

Tears that she didn't think she still had, fell from her eyes, she knew that she needed to get to the door, but she was in too much pain. "Steph, I can't." She said, defeat clear in her voice.

She heard her friend digging around for something and then a clicking sound told her that her friend had found a way in. Seeing her come into the room and putting away a credit card, she felt like she was a lost child seeing it's mother for the first time after being separated.

"Oh my God! Nikki!" The doctor called out and ran to her side.

She didn't need to be told what happened when she saw her half dressed friend lying on the bed.

"Nikki, I need to look you over ok." She said in a soft tone. Working at a clinic she had been faced with this before many times, but she had never thought that her favorite nurse and friend would be one of the victims she treated.

Only able to nod, Nikki rolled over and tried to stifle the scream that was trying to work its way out of her.

"Oh Nikki." She heard the doctor say in a sad voice as she saw the pain that the young girl was in. "Ok, I'm going to press on your abdomen, tell me if it hurts or you feel any pain."

Again, Nikki was only able to nod.

Pressing lightly on the right side of her tummy, Staph stopped as soon as she heard a sharp intake of breath. Knowing that it wasn't a good sign she stopped.

"It hurts, it really hurt." Nikki sobbed.

"Ok, Nikki as much as I know you aren't going to like it, we have to get you to the hospital. There could be internal bleeding, and there may be internal damage that needs to be repaired." She said, starting to aid her in pulling her pants back up. She didn't miss the large blood stain on the bed that was gathering under her. "I'll call your dad as soon as we get you to the hospital."

"No! He's going to freak out, he can't know!" Nikki plead with her friend.

"Nikki, he's your father. He loves you and he is worried about you. I'll talk to him for you alright." She rubbed her hair lightly, hopping to calm her down. "I know that your eighteenth birthday is a few days away, but until then you're still under the care of your parents. As a doctor, I have to call them."

Everything that happened after that was a whirlwind to her as she closed off into herself, begging God that everything would go smoothly with her father. He had made it clear that he didn't like her dating older men, and everything that they had done had been at their house under his watchful eye, until now.

She had been right about her father being upset when he found out what had happened. He had yelled at her the whole way home. He mother crying in the front seat, unable to come to terms with what happened to her baby girl.

"I told you something like this would happen! But did you listen to me NO!" He shouted from the driver's seat, his face an angry red as he continued to vent his anger. "God help you if he got you pregnant! What are the people at church going to think when they hear this?"

She hadn't thought about others finding out, and the fear of their judgment caused her breathing to quicken.

Once they had gotten to the hospital, Steph had done all the talking and even dealt with the police to report the rape. They had done all types of tests and it would take awhile to get all the results back. They had offered her the 'morning after' pill; however her upbringing wouldn't allow her to take it.

As a Christian she was taught that life began at conception, and to take a pill that would prevent and put a stop to any further development was wrong to her, it was the same a murder in her eyes.

She thought that everything was getting better as the weeks passed, all her blood work came back negative, and she had been given time off to deal with the trauma. Her world came to a sudden stop when she woke up one morning and had to rush to the bathroom, she knew right then what the cause was.

Talking to her mother, they had made a doctor's appointment and had her fears confirmed. She dreaded her father finding out, and her mother told her that it would all work out, things happened for a reason.

What either one of them had expected was the furry that her father had shown when he was told.

"Get out of my house! I never want to see your face in this house again! Do you hear me! Take your butt and that bastard child of yours and get the hell out of my house! I won't have my house tainted with your sins! GET OUT!"

Only having a few minutes to gather a few things in her pack she tried to say good bye to her mother only to have her father roughly pull her out of her mother's arms and tossed out of the house.

"Daddy please, it wasn't my fault!" She tried to reason with him.

Before slamming the door closed behind her, her father looked her in the eye with hate and anger. "Don't call me that. You're dead to me."

**Authors notes:** ok, I know it's not the happiest chapter, but I feel that it's important to understand where she is coming from and what she has been though. The boys are going to be in the next chapter! I'm sure you are all ready to see Sam and Dean. I wonder how they are going to react to seeing their father with a young pregnant girl…things could get heated next chapter!

Please let me know how I'm doing, and let me know if something doesn't make sense.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note:** I know that I said that Sam and Dean would be worked into this chapter, and I'm sorry, but I felt like it wasn't right for them to come into the story yet. There are a few things I have to clear up and set up between John and Nikki before the boys make their appearance. This chapter is going to be a bit shorter than the last two, but just as good.

Thank you to Rayne91, nichole23, Mary Izzy Dakota, melrose5553, DeanWinchesterluvr91, Lady OD, and MoonlitPrincez314. I hope that you all enjoy this new chapter.

Also, I know that I loaded the wrong save on the last chapter, and have gone back and fixed it. For those of you who read the last chapter and read the name of her BF was Wade at the start of the chapter and then it became Aaron. I'm so sorry if it confused any of you and I hope not to have a mistake that big again. His name is Aaron, and there is a picture on my profile of him. (We haven't seen the last of him!)

**Family Is Just a Word **

**Chapter THREE:** Patch Up

**Chapter Rating:** PG-13

_Only having a few minutes to gather a few things in her pack she tried to say good bye to her mother only to have her father roughly pull her out of her mother's arms and tossed out of the house. _

"_Daddy please, it wasn't my fault!" She tried to reason with him._

_Before slamming the door closed behind her, her father looked her in the eye with hate and anger. "Don't call me that. You're dead to me."_

Forcing herself to push away the nightmare that had been haunting her the last few weeks, Nikki reached out and turned off the shower, not wanting to use up all the relaxing hot water. Wiping her hands over her face to make sure all the soap was away from her eyes, she pulled the shower curtain open and grabbed one of the rough white towels.

She could still remember the intense fear that washed through her when her father closed the door and said those hateful words. It took her a few minutes to process that it hadn't been a joke or a moment of anger on her father's part. He had gone even further and had called the police telling them that there was a strange woman on his front lawn. It was clear to her at that point that he had been one hundred percent honest about cutting her out of his life, and their family.

Hot tears feel from her eyes as she began to dry off. 'Please God; give me the strength to get through this.' She prayed.

Dried and dressed she opened the door and the steam bellowed out of the room, fogging up the mirror that was over the sink right outside the shower room. Hand resting at her waistband she tried to walk without the shorts falling down. She could see John seating at the table and it looked like he had gone out to get something to eat, two brown paper bags sat on top unopened.

"Don't just stand there, come eat." His rough voice called out to her.

Doing as he told her, she made her way over and took a seat in the open chair on the other side of the table. Once she was seated, John pushed one of the bags closer to her. Reaching up to take it and take out the items in the bag she couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips.

A bottle of ginger ale and a box of crackers where the first that she saw, pulling them out she looked into the bottom of the bag to see a dark brown bottle. Pulling it out she saw that it was full of some kind of pills, turning it around, she read the label.

_Prenatal Nutrients_

_240 Tablets_

_Prenatal Multivitamins _

Gratefulness washed over her whole being as she got up and walked over to give John a hug. One of her many fears had been making sure that her unborn child was getting everything that he or she needed to be a healthy and strong baby.

She knew how important it was to take the vitamins and to make sure that she ate the right things, but it had proven difficult with limited funds. Her last bottle had been stolen, along with most her other stuff, at a shelter that she had stayed at when she had first been put out on her own. She was left with what she had on her person and it only consisted of fifty dollars in her back pocket. As much as she had wanted to use the money to get more pills she knew she had to stretch it out to buy food for herself.

John didn't make a move to return the hug and just let the young girl embrace him around his thick neck. He noted that she was being soft and minding his injury, something that he was thankful for.

He had gone to the small drug store right down the street while she had been in the shower to restock on some first aid supplies when he had seen the vitamins. Remembering when Mary had been pregnant that she had been told by her doctor to make sure that if she couldn't keep anything down, to make sure that she got the vitamins in her system.

"Take two in the morning and two at night, I'll be counting them so don't think I won't know if you're not taking them." He told her as she pulled away from him.

"You would have to be around in order to count them." She said in a soft voice. She knew that he wasn't about to take on a young pregnant girl, he was just being nice to her because of what happened in the alley. Tomorrow would come and he would drop her off at a shelter and be on his way.

"You think I'm just going to let you go back and take up in another alley?" He asked her. Getting up he walked over to the mirror and looked to see the damage done to his face. It had been stinking and throbbing the past hour, but he had other things to deal with before he could patch himself back up. "As long as you don't get in the way, and don't ask too many questions, you'll have a roof over your head and food in your tummy." He said turning back around and getting the items he would need to stitch his check.

Not knowing what to say to his kind offer, she made her way over to him and took the needle out of his hand and looked up to him. "You need to clean it out first or it'll get infected. Go set down." She told him. The nurse in her was coming out, and she had to admit that it felt good to help someone.

Too tired to fight her on it, he sat back down at the table and waited for her to walk back over to him. He watched as her turned on the sink and washed her hands with soap and hot water. Once she was done, she took the water bottle and dumped out the remaining water. Picking up the alcohol she poured some into the bottle and then added more water shacking it to make sure it was mixed.

Walking back over to him she held out the cap to him. "Can you poke a hole in it?" She asked.

Trusting that she knew what she was doing, he pulled out his silver butterfly knife and did as she asked. Once he handed it back to her she twisted it on the bottle and set it down on the table. Walking back to the bathroom she gathered more towels and the rest of the items that she would need.

"Ok, it's going to sting, but I'm going to flush out the cut and then stitch you back up." She said, telling him what she was about to do.

"Sounds like you know what you're talking about."John said as he watched her lay everything out.

With a smile she picked up the small towel and held it under his chin to catch the run off. "Close your eyes, I don't think you want to get this in them." She said and began to squeeze the wash over his wound. She knew, when he didn't flinch, that this wasn't the worse he had had in the past.

"I was a nurse at a clinic for about two years and was working on getting into medical school." She said to him to answer his question. She never took her eyes off her work and watched as the water/alcohol mixture washed away the blood and began to clean out the gash.

"Little young to be a nurse." He stated.

"I graduated early, when I was sixteen, and went right into nursing school. I worked at the clinic part time until I was done with school and was waiting to hear back if I was accepted into Baylor." She said with a hint of sadness in her voice. It had been a long term dream of hers to become a doctor and then go on mission trips and helping those who really needed her aid.

"Did you ever find out?" John asked.

Shaking her head even if he couldn't see her, she told him she didn't know. "I was kicked out before I found out. Guess I'll never know. It would have been too hard to focus on school and a child at the same time anyway. I guess it was God's way of saying that it wasn't what he wanted me to do." She told him. "Ok, you can open your eyes now; I'm done cleaning it out."

"Why didn't you just put it on a rag and wipe it out?" He asked her. It worked for him in the past.

"There is a greater risk of getting a piece of the cotton in the wound and then it could cause a bigger problem latter down the line." She answered him.

'_Never thought about that.'_ He thought to himself.

Watching her tread the needle with the suture he saw that she did so with experience. Once she was done she looked at him to make sure he was ready. Giving her a nod, she began to stitch his skin back together. It didn't take long, only taking five stitches, and she was done.

Standing up and walking back over to the mirror he inspected her work. He had to admit that she had done a great job, better then he would have done. He wouldn't have a scare when it was healed.

Seeing that her back was turned to him, he pulled off his worn shirt and tossed it onto the floor. He had enough left in him to take a shower and then hit that sack.

Picking up all the used towels and bloody needle Nikki turned around just in time to see John walk into the bathroom, shirtless. In less than five seconds she took note of a few things.

First was that his right side was already bruised and swollen and she knew that he was in a great amount of pain. She couldn't help but be surprised that he wasn't complaining about it, any other person would be begging for something to take the pain away.

The second had been that for an older man, he was in great shape. Recalling what he had done in the alley and how he had moved with a grace that only a highly experienced fighter would hold, she knew that he must do this kind of thing often. The scares that covered his back was all she needed to know that he had indeed been though worse.

She knew that he had told her not to ask a lot of questions, but he hadn't told her that she couldn't ask any questions. She would just have to pick them wisely and make sure that they where worded right.

Washing off what she had used she was surprised when she heard the water turn off and a few moments later he opened the door. She fought back the blush and fear at seeing him only in a towel and stood out of his way as he made his way over to his bag. Getting what he needed he returned to the steamy room to get dressed.

He had forgotten for a minute that she had been out there, and hadn't meant to make her feel uncomfortable, but he wasn't used to having someone else in his room, and even then it was his two sons. Not an eighteen year old pregnant girl.

Fully dressed he walked out again to see that she had sat back down in her chair and was resting her head on her folded arms.

"Take the bed." He told her.

"No, you're the one who has broken ribs and just fought, whatever those things where."

"Vampires." He said without fault. "And I'm not going to bed, to many things to do." He said. He didn't want to tell her that as soon as she was asleep he would lay out on the floor.

Not wanting to fight with the man who took on vampires like they where nothing, she walked over to the bed and got under the covers. She couldn't deny how great it felt to be back in a bed, and not curled up between a rock and a hard place. She could only hope that her nightmares wouldn't come back due to her staying in a hotel room. It had been the first one since _that_ day.

"Good night Mr. John." She said as sleep took over.

Looking down at her sleeping peacefully in the bed, he knew that it would be too hard, and stupid, to keep her with him. There were too many things that could go wrong and he would never forgive himself if anything happened to her on his watch. Looking down and seeing that it wasn't to terribly late yet, he picked up his phone and walked outside to make a call.

"Bobby it's me John."

Authors Note: Another one down! I hope that you all liked it and are beginning to see the growing trust between both John and Nikki. It a big part of the story and it plays a big role. Like I said before, this is _**NOT**_ a John/Nikki story. Sam and Dean _**WILL**_ be in the next chapter, along with Bobby. I would love to hear what you all think about it so far so please let me know!


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Notes:** This chapter took longer to get done, and it turned out much longer, but I didn't want to rush anything with this story. (For those of you who have been reading my other stories I'm still working on them, they are just taking longer as well.) My husband and I are in the process of finding a new place to live so it may take longer to update, but know that I haven't given up on any of my stories.

I would like to thank Rayne91, nichole23, Mary Izzy Dakota, melrose5553, DeanWinchesterJuvr91, Lady OD and MoonlitePrincez314 for you awesome feedback and for adding this story to your favorite lists. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and please let me know who you see Nikki with… Sam or Dean. It's far too early for the final decision, but as the writer, I can play around…. Wink wink.

**Family Is Just a Word **

**Chapter FOUR:** First Impression.

**Chapter Rating:** PG-13

Silence, something that she hadn't heard in a long while, woke Nikki from her sleep. Living on the streets she had gotten used to the noise and sounds of the open, the lack of sound was setting her on edge. Forcing herself up from the soft bed, she couldn't help but note that the rays of light where shining through the window. For the first time in the last month she felt like she had gotten a good amount of rest.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes to get a better look around the small room, she saw that John was nowhere to be seen. Just as she was about to get out of bed and look around in search of him, the door opened and in he walked.

She only watched as he walked in and shut the door with his foot, his hands full of what looked to be clean laundry.

Getting up and making her way over to him, she took some of the clothing from him to set it down on the table, picking up a shirt and began to fold it. She didn't want to ask him if he needed help or not, she didn't want to give him the option of telling her 'no'.

John knew better then to tell her that he didn't need her to fold his clean clothing, but it would save on time, allowing him to take a morning shower before they had to leave. Without telling her his plans he walked into the bathroom, clean clothes in hand, and shut the door.

The sound of the water told her what he was doing, and she couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips. Picking up another article of clothing she stopped herself from folding it. There in her hands was her shirt, clean and fresh.

Joy washed over her as she dug in the pile more to find her pants and other pieces of clothing. A small blush heated up her face as she pulled out her worn black bra, but she couldn't bring herself to be angry with him for picking it up. He had gone out of his way to make sure she had something clean for the day; there was no part of her that could find a fault in him for that thoughtful act.

Knowing that she didn't have long before he got out, she recalled that he took rather fast showers, she pulled off the top that he had let her use and quickly went about getting changed into her clothing. Right as she was done, she heard the water turn off.

'_Perfect timing.'_ She thought to herself as she began to finish folding his clothing. Locating his large worn duffel, she went ahead and began to load all his freshly clean and folded clothing into the old army issued bag.

John, walking back out of the shower and back into the room, saw that Nikki was already dressed and it seemed like she was humming. Something that John's ears haven't heard in a very long time. He had to stop himself from thinking of how Mary would hum to Dean to get him to sleep, and how she used the same trick on Sam.

Pushing aside the memories of better days, he walked over to inspect her packing skills. He had to admit that she had managed to get all his clothing in and there was still room, just like he did it. He couldn't stand it to be overstuffed; it was one of his pet-peeves.

Walking over to the small table that he had used as his desk while he was working the case, he pulled a note book out and ripped out a piece of paper, putting it into his pocket.

Looking over the room one more time, to make sure that he grabbed everything, he looked at Nikki. "You ready? We have one stop before we head to a friend's place." He informed her.

With a bashful smile she only nodded to him. It wasn't like she had a whole lot to her name anyway.

Again, John helped her up into his truck making sure that she didn't have too much trouble, and then walked around to the driver's side, throwing his bag in the back of his truck on the way.

It only took him a short drive till he pulled off the main road pulling into a Wal-Mart parking lot. Pulling out the patter that he had stuffed into his pocket from earlier he handed it over to Nikki. "Think you can handle getting the things on this list?" He asked her.

Taking the list from him and opening it, she couldn't stop the tears that clouded over her eyes. It was a list of everything that she needed, new clothing, underwear, and toiletries. Not trusting her voice to answer him she gave him a smile and nodded.

"Good. You got an hour." He said as he opened the door and walked around to open hers. He had to go in to restock on a few things and pick up the right type of bag for her, but he trusted her to be ok on her own. He didn't want to pry and over look everything that she was going to pick out.

Walking inside and getting her a shopping cart, he told her that he would meet her at the checkout in one hour.

List in hand she made her way over to the clothing section and began to pull a few things that caught her eye. She tried to stay within the sale area and only got what was on the list. Once she cart was half full of the clothing that matched the list she made her way to the isle that held all the soaps and hair care products.

'_Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razors… I still need a new tooth brush, tooth paste, deodorant, and a hair brush.'_ Nikki told herself. Looking down to her watch, one thing that she was able to keep with her, she saw that she was making good on time.

Throwing the last item in her cart she headed to the checkout, she was fifteen minutes early and knew that John would be waiting for her. Just as she thought, he was standing off to the side, waiting for her. He stood up straight when he saw her heading his way.

He had gathered his own cart and had a few items inside. "You're early. Sure you got everything?" He asked. He was surprised that she hadn't taken the full time he allotted to her.

"Yeah I'm sure." She said back. Together they walked to the checkout line and he began to place things on the counter. As the cashier rang everything up, he couldn't help but note that everything she had gotten was on sale.

That told John a lot about her, and her character. Along with what he learned the night before, she seemed to care for others, why else become a nurse? The way that she had taken care of him and patched his face up, told him that she took care in what she did, not wanting to rush anything.

Picking things that were all on sale, told him that she didn't care about name brand and only got what she needed, she was a down to earth girl, something that was hard to find in the world today.

After paying the amount due, he grabbed the cart loaded up with bags and pushed it to the truck. Unlocking the door, he told her to go ahead and get in while he put everything away, and she did just that.

"Thank you Mr. John." Nikki finally said to him as he behind the wheel.

He only responded with a grunt.

John only made one more stop to get something to eat before they took back to the main highway. Nikki declined any offer of food, holding up her crackers and ale. She didn't want to risk anything coming up while they were driving.

"Where are we going, if you don't mind me asking." Nikki asked after an hour on the road.

"A friends. I talked to him last night and he said that you could stay with him as long as you'd like." He told her, keeping his eyes on the road before him.

"Oh." She said, he noted the sadness in her voice.

"He's a good man." She reassured her. "Besides, it wouldn't be very safe for you to travel with me." He told her in all honesty.

Looking down to her hands she nodded her understanding. She had to admit that she didn't know much about what he did, but from what she saw and could remember from the alley, she knew he was right.

"What is it that you do?" She asked, keeping her voice down. "You said those things were vampires?"

John knew that it was only a matter of time before she asked him about what had happened, and knew hopped that she remembered their little agreement about not asking a lot of questions.

"Yeah, those things where vampires, I hunt them down and make sure that they stop hurting people."

"There are others like you?" She inquired.

"Yeah there are a few." He told her, surprised that she wasn't asking more about the vampires and what else was other there.

"That's good..." She said with a smile. "..that there are those out there doing what you do. I'm sure the world would be a much worse off if no one was willing to deal with them."

Having nothing to say to that John just kept driving. He noted that Nikki seemed to be happy with what she learned so far.

It was late in the afternoon by the time they stopped for lunch and to stretch out their legs. Pulling into a small road side dinner, John got out, but before he could make it to her side of the door to help her out, she hopped down and shut the door, making sure she locked it.

With a smile she walked up next to him and together they walked into the restraint. Finding a corner booth he sat down on the side that he could keep an eye on the door, Nikki seating across from him. It didn't take long for a middle aged waitress to make her way over to them.

"Good afternoon. My name it Ronda, and I'll be taking care of you. Can I get you anything to drink?" She asked smiling as she looked in between them.

"Ice Tea." John said to her, watching her write it down.

"I'll have water please." Nikki told her.

"Sure thing sweetheart, I'll have that right out for you." She told them and turned away from them to gather their drinks.

"Think you can try and hold down some real food?" John asked Nikki.

"I can try."

"Good, you need to work on eating as much as you can, that little one needs all it can get." He said, his fatherly side creeping out of him.

She couldn't help but smile at how he was becoming protective of her, which brought up a question that she couldn't help herself from asking. "Do you have any children Mr. John?"

Looking up from his menu, he looked at her, thinking about what she just asked. Leaning back into the booth, he pulled out his wallet and took out a old worn picture.

Reaching out to take the photo for him, she couldn't help but smile at the two young boys in the picture. "They're so cute." She said to him. She could clearly see him in the older of the two; they had the same green eyes. The younger one looked to be under a year old, and was in the arms of the older boy. He had a rather large grin on his face and she could tell that he was happy to be holding his little brother.

"Yeah they were." He said with a hint of sadness.

Nikki looked up to him, thinking the worse and handed back the picture. "I'm sorry, what happened to them?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.

With a small smile, John put the picture away. "They grew up. Dean is twenty seven now and Sam is twenty three."

"Wow, I bet they look just like their dad." She said as the waitress came back with their drinks. She couldn't help herself from thinking of a younger looking John; he must have been a real looker back in his day. The fact that he had two sons made her hope that they took after their father. If the older one had his eyes, she was sure he had turned into a real ladies man. She didn't have a good idea of what Sam would look like, only seeing a bundled up child. But he was sure to be just as good looking, maybe he took after their mother.

"Are we ready to order or do you need a little more time?" Ronda asked, again with a smile.

"I'll have the double cheese burger; can you add bacon to that?" John asked. When Ronda nodded with a smile he continued. " …and a side of fries."

"Sure thing, and what does your daughter want?" She asked looking to Nikki.

Nikki was about ready to correct her, but saw the look on Johns face and thought to just go with it. It would be kind of hard to explain why an older man would be with a younger girl. Even though Nikki was eighteen, she still looked younger than her real age.

"Um, I'll just have the BLT. Can I get a side of fresh fruit?" She asked pointing out one of the extras on the list of sides.

"Sure thing, I'm going to go give this to the cook and it should be out in the next ten minutes." Again she smiled then walked away.

They both sat there just looking out the window for a few minutes, Nikki wanted to know more about his sons, but knew not to ask too much. He had already done so much for her; she didn't want to push his kindness.

Sensing that she wanted to know more about his life, John didn't see the harm in tell her. "Dean grew up a lot faster than he should have had too. There was a fire that killed my wife, Mary, and Dean pulled Sammy out of it and took him to safety. After that day he wouldn't take his eyes off him, he even slept in the same bed as him until they both became too big for the twin size bed." He said with a laugh. He could still remember waking up to a loud thud as Dean hit the floor. Sam had pushed him off the bed in his sleep and took over the whole thing before his oldest son could get back into it to claim his spot.

"That's so sweet, that he looks after him. Do they know about what you do?" She asked leaning over the table.

Nodding to her he found the right words to answer her. "Yeah, they grew up knowing the truth. We hunted as a family for a while, than Sam got accept into Stanford. We had a bit of a fight, but I was so proud of him." He said with a true smile. "Dean didn't take it so well, but they've gotten over it now."

"Wow Stanford, he must be really smart." She said. "So they are hunting together again? What happened to Stanford?"

Looking down at the table John didn't know if he should get into what was behind his wife's murder and the death of Jessica.

"The thing that started the fire and killed Mary went after Sam's girlfriend, Jessica. He wasn't able to save her, so he left the school."

It hurt to hear what he was telling her, but it made it all click. "That's why you don't want me to tag along, because that thing is still out there." Nikki said more to herself then to the man seating in front of her.

"Among others. There are more than just vampires and things that start fires running around out there. Hunters always have to be ready for danger around each corner. I wouldn't be able to watch out for you and keep you safe and do my job."

"I understand." She said. Her respect for the man was growing with everything that she learned from and about him.

Their food arrived only a few minutes later and Nikki tried as best she could to eat as much as her stomach would let her. However she was only able to make it though half her BLT before she had to call it quits. Picking up a grape from the fruit side she popped it into her mouth and began to chew it.

Ronda came back and brought their check, which John took and paid. Nikki asked for a to-go box, hopping that she would get hungry again and finish eating what she had left. She couldn't deny that it tasted good, she just wasn't used to being able to eat regularly anymore. Living on the streets for a month had done some damage and she could only thank God that John had walked down that alley when he did.

Back on the road again, they drove on in silence. As much as she wanted to know more about who she was going to be staying with, she trusted John enough to not just leave her anywhere. She could tell that they had driven though a few different states already and could only hope that they arrived soon. She wasn't used to all this driving, and her lower back was starting to hurt.

As the sun was setting, they pulled off the main road and drove a little ways down a dirt drive until they stopped at a salvage yard. The amount of run down and beat up cars where a small shock to her, but she figured that it went along with being a place to dump off old cars and fix up others.

It was hard to tell, but she could see an older model back car parked off to the side, so she knew that this friend of John's was home.

Seeing his 67' Impala parked on the side, he knew that his two boys where inside the house. '_Damn it Bobby.'_ He thought to himself. He knew that he must have called them as soon as he hung up with him last night. He knew that his boys had been looking for him for a while, and he should have known that Bobby would have called them up and snitched on him.

"Looks like you'll get to meet Sam and Dean. That's their car." John said. He couldn't hold back the tone of his voice, the one people get when they know the shit was about it hit a fan… one word from his days in the Marine Carps come to mind… FUBAR… Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition. And if Dean and Sam where still upset at him for going AWAL, the he knew that he was in for it.

Stopping the truck next to his former car, he thought about telling Nikki to stay in the cab of the truck until he could deal with his two boys, but that option was taken away from him when he saw Bobby's screen door open and Dean rush out, Sam close behind him.

Looking up at seeing two men make their way over to the driver's side of the truck, Nikki couldn't fully process what was happening. The slightly shorter of the two made his way over to John's side, between a run and jog; he covered the ground between them in no time.

"Dad!" He shouted at him. Nikki wasn't sure which one he was, but she was sure of one thing, these where defiantly not little boys anymore. The one that was hanging back a little was much taller, towering over his brother and father. She looked back to the house to see another man, around John's age come out. The look on his face told her that didn't know what to fully expect to come out of the three men.

"What the hell is going on dad?" Dean asked, standing his ground. He had gotten a call last night from Bobby telling them that his father was going to be dropping something off at his house, but didn't know when. He and Sam had switched of driving the whole way, only stopping for food, gas and to relieve themselves. "We've been trying to find your ass, following your messages all over the states. We've called you more than once and you couldn't even pick up the damn phone to let us know that you're alright?" He yelled. His anger was coming out faster than he could ring it back in and remember who he was talking it.

"Dean, you knew what I was doing. It wasn't safe." John said, his rough fatherly tone coming out. Nikki, still in the truck, could see the tough love act that he was putting up.

Bringing his hands up as if in defeat, Dean turned around and saw Nikki for the first time. "Who the hell is that?" He yelled pointing to Nikki, when she saw his angry eyes; she looked down to her hands. "You don't have enough time to let you own sons know that you're alive, but you have time to pick up strays? Bring work home with you dad? I thought that you said that it wasn't safe to get mixed up in a case." He stated, not taking note that John had moved in closer to him. "Or is she more of the pleasure then the business?"

Before he had time to regret what he had just said, his father hooked him with a solid right. Dean went down, but caught himself before he was lying on the ground. Jumping up to his feet, he rushed at his father. All the anger, hurt and pain of him leaving him was boiling to the surface and this was the only way he knew to deal with it right now.

Seeing what was happening, Nikki, jumped out of the cab and ran around to try and stop the two men from fighting. She had heard everything that he had yelled, and as much as it hurt her, she wasn't about to let John deal with this all on his own. It was all a huge misunderstanding, and she was going to fix it.

"Stop!" She yelled, but was stopped by two large arms wrapping around her.

Sam, had seen the young girl get out of the truck and make her way to try and stop the fight, but he knew that she would only end up getting hurt, and thought that it would be better to stop her. "Whoa! Let them work it out. Trust me you don't want to get in the middle of that." He told her.

"You have to stop them, your dad is already hurt and in bad shape." She informed him. She was trying to ignore the feeling of having a man holding her from behind, and pushed the fears away. He was much taller then she thought up close, and she could tell that he was a lot stronger then he looked, he was putting forth no effort to hold her back.

Letting her go, making sure that she was steady on her feet, he moved so that he could look at her. He was shocked when he learned that they had a chance at seeing their father again, but when they had heard the truck pull up, Dean and he had not thought that he would have a young girl with him. His father had a lot to feel them in on.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked her. He wasn't happy about his father not keeping in contact with them, but he didn't hate the man.

"You dad has a busted cheek, and broken cheek bone, I had to stitch him up last night. He also had a few bruised ribs, he wouldn't let me look at them, but I'm sure they are broken as well. He took out five vampires and saved my life. Please you have to stop them." She was on the border of begging the older man. She could see the worry build on his face as she told him of what condition his father was in.

"Alright, you stay here." He said pointing to the ground. Turning back around he looked to see both his brother and father on the ground, punching and kicking. He could tell that his father was winning, even if Dean was on top.

"Dean, Stop it. That's enough." Sam said, trying to pull his older brother off their dad. Dean, in full fight mode, elbowed Sam in the cheek to push him away. Seeing that talking wasn't going to do the trick, Sam used his size and hefted Dean up and away from John. "I said that enough Dean!" He yelled, his own anger coming out.

Nikki could only watch as Sam pulled the angry Dean off John and pushed him away. Once she saw that it was clear, she ran over to John's side to help him up.

"Get off me Sam!" Dean yelled to his younger brother.

"Not until you calm down. Did you even see that dad was already hurt?" He questioned him. "Yeah that's what I thought." Sam said when he saw the lost look on his face.

"You should be more upset and angry then I am! You should have wanted to punch him right along with him Sam!" He yelled, clearly still very upset.

Sam kept his ground and held Dean at arms light away from their fallen father. Looking back over his shoulder he saw that Nikki was bending down about ready to put something over his reopened cheek when he felt Dean move around him.

Unable to move fast enough, He could only shout out. "Dean STOP!"

His cry for his brother to knock off and cool down was drowned out by a very loud and very close shot gun going off.

Everyone stopped and looked over to See Bobby, shotgun in hand, glaring at them. "Dean, I know you weren't about to push a pregnant girl out of the way to get to your father, and Sam you should know better than to let your eyes off him when he's in a mood." Bobby yelled to them, glaring at Dean.

The gunshot still ringing in their ears, and seeing Bobby still holding the shotgun they knew to stop and really think about their next move. However the only thing that they both heard him say was 'pregnant girl.'

As if sharing the same thought, they both looked back to the young girl tending to their father.

"Dad, what the hell is going on?" Dean asked, his anger was still very much there, but instead of seeing red, it was a white hot anger. What was his father doing with a young pregnant girl?

**Authors Notes:** Ok so there you go… sorry it took so long. I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note:** I'm sorry it took me this long to get the next chapter out, I was hoping to have this out last week, but the move was the worst one out of fourteen. I have also been dealing with a major writers block and I know that there are those out there who can understand that they aren't that fun to deal with. I would like to say thank you to **deanstheman** for helping me work though it and for pre-reading this chapter to give me some insight.

Thank you; also, to everyone who has been keeping up with this story and I hope that from this point on that the updates come more often. I'm hoping for once a week, if not more.

I have deleted the note that I left and replaced it with this chapter; I hope that you will all read and let me know what you think.

Also, I have a poll going on right now to see who you would like to see Nikki end up with, and so far these are the results. You can still go to my profile page and vote for your pick.

**Dean:** 60%

**Sam:** 40%

(Out of 10 votes)

And just a heads up… this is going to be part one of a three story arc. Things are never what they seem to be…

**Family is Just a Word**

**Chapter FIVE:** M&M Forgiveness

**Chapter Rating: **PG

**~*~ Last Time~*~**

_Everyone stopped and looked over to see Bobby, shotgun in hand, glaring at them. "Dean, I know you weren't about to push a pregnant girl out of the way to get to your father, and Sam you should know better than to let your eyes off him when he's in a mood." Bobby yelled to them, glaring at Dean. _

_The gunshot still ringing in their ears, and seeing Bobby still holding the shotgun they knew to stop and really think about their next move. However the only thing that they both heard him say was 'pregnant girl.' _

_As if sharing the same thought, they both looked back to the young girl tending to their father. _

"_Dad, what the hell is going on?" Dean asked, his anger was still very much there, but instead of seeing red, it was a white hot anger. What was his father doing with a young pregnant girl?_

**~*~ Chapter FIVE~*~**

Choosing to ignore his oldest son, John -with the help of Bobby- pulled himself off the ground and headed to the house, Nikki close behind him. He had known that his boys where going to jump to the wrong conclusion and their minds wouldn't stop thinking of lies until he told them the truth.

But right now he really wanted something to drink, something strong.

Once inside his good friend's house, he made his way to the study/den and walked over to the desk that was against one of the walls. Pulling open the bottom drawer, he pulled out the half empty bottle of Jack, glad to see that Bobby hadn't killed it off just yet.

Without missing a beat, Nikki pulled out the chair that was pushed into the desk and guided John into it. Hopping that he would stay there long enough for her to look him over and patch his cheek up again.

She was unable to stop a sharp intake of breath. She couldn't even see his eye with all the puffy discolored skin; she could however, very clearly, see the cut that had been reopened. She could only hope and pray that she would be able to re-stitch it closed. If she wasn't able to mend his damages cheek back together, she would have to rely on a much more ghetto way for keeping the wound closed, tape, duck tape. She didn't like the idea of it, but she had seen it done before, and she knew that it would work if she found no other way.

Setting her mind to the job ahead, she looked around and saw the door that led to the kitchen. However before she was able to make it to the cooking room, the front door banged open and the young man, John oldest son, Dean barged into the very room, anger and rage rolled off him in waves. She thought that if he was any more enraged, that random things would start braking around them.

"Dad!" Dean yelled as he stomped into the house, looking for his father. Bobby and Sam had held him outside to get him to cool down. He had cooled down to some degree, after he hit Sam again, and took the gun from the older hunter and tossed it across the yard. With Bobby going after the gun, and Sam on the ground he knew he had a few minutes to talk, or yell, at his father.

"Where the hell have you been?" He asked, non to kindly. "I've been worried sick, no phone calls, no nothing. You just up and left me. I had to go and drag Sam away from school to help me find you!" He continued to yell at his father, who was setting slouched in the desk chair, bottle of Jack open.

It was clear to Nikki to see what was going on. As much as the other man put a bit of fear into her, she knew that his anger and rage was only to cover his hurt and pain.

Knowing that all Dean's anger and rage was directed to the poor beaten man sitting in the chair, she took the opportunity to fall back into the kitchen to see if she could find what she was looking for. Even though she was in another room, she could still hear everything that was being said, or shouted, in the study.

"Did you even get any of the messages I left you? Do you even have the same phone?" Dean asked his father, not bothering to ask him if he was alright, or how he had gotten hurt in the first place. "Do you even care that your youngest son lost his girlfriend the same way we lost mom?" He said more under his breath, but John was still able to hear it.

Taking a deep breath, he knew that Dean wasn't going to listen to anything he had to say until he got everything out. He knew that when he left, in order to pursue his wife's killer, that it would hurt Dean the most. He had done it to keep him safe, and he would do it all over again if he had the opportunity for a do-over.

"We have been looking everywhere for you! And then we get a phone call from Bobby telling us that you're on your way here! You call him, but you can't even let me and Sam know that your even alright?" Dean kept ranting as he walked around the room. He was still so angry that he could hit something, but he knew better than that.

Deep down, all Dean wanted to do when he saw his father was hung him and hear him tell him that it was all going to be alright, that they where a family again. Instead, his need for comfort was pushed aside by anger and jealousy.

He hadn't been ready to find his father in the company of a young beautiful girl.

Thinking about the girl, he looked around. '_The pregnant girl.'_ He thought to himself. He still needed to know what her story was, and what she was doing with his father. Dean didn't know a lot about soon-to-be-mothers and what all went along with it, but he did know that she must be in the early stages of it. There was nothing about her that told him she had a bun in the oven.

Tacking a deep breath and closing his eyes, knowing that he had to clam down to ask what he was about to, he thought the words over in his head before he spoke.

"Is it yours?" Dean asked, eyes open and looking John right in the eye.

"No it's not." A clam voice said from behind him. Turning around Dean saw Nikki reenter the room. "I understand that you have a lot of things that you must what to know from your father, but I really need to clean him up." Nikki said as she walked over to John. Dean had turned to look her over and saw that she had her arms full of a few different things. By the look of it, she knew what she was doing.

Without another word, she began to work on cleaning John's face. Trying to put her focus on her work, she couldn't help but keep her ears open to what was going on around her. She heard the front door open again and the other two men walked into the house, calling out for Dean, and John.

"DEAN!" Sam called out, searching the house for his angry brother. Walking though the kitchen he saw them in the other room and rushed in to see that things had cooled down some. Looking from his angry older brother over to the two on the other side of the room, he saw that his father was getting treated and he hoped that Dean hadn't done more damage to their dad.

Bobby followed close behind him, gun still in hand. Seeing the same scene as Sam, he put the gun down, leaning it up against the wall. Walking up behind Nikki, he looked over her shoulder to see her work.

"Looks like you know what your doin' there kid." He said out loud.

"I've had lots of practice." She answered back, hopping that the atmosphere in the room was beginning to lighten. She hadn't thought that there would have been this much trouble, and she began to think that she should just leave after she knew John was going to be alright. She didn't want to get in the way of him and his sons, and it was due to her that he was attacked by his oldest.

Everyone seemed to be waiting for her to finish her patch up job before they began to ask any more questions.

Once she was happy that her quick fix was going to do the job, she turned around to look at the other two injured men. She could tell that Dean was in more pain than his younger, yet much taller, brother; but she thought that it would do him some good to set there in his pain, just for a few more minutes.

Walking up to Sam, she looked him over to see that he had a busted up lip and a rather nice shiner on his right eye. "You're next." She said and took his large hand in hers and pulled him over to the desk where she had everything spread out.

John, seeing and knowing, that she was going to have a hard time fixing up his youngest due to his height, stood up and pointed to the chair. "Sit down. Bobby and I have things to talk about. Once your all cleaned up we'll talk." He said then looked over to Dean. 'Behave' he said with a glair in his eyes.

Bottle still in hand, John nodded his head to the other room and followed his friend out, giving one more look behind him as to make sure that nothing was going to happen while he was gone.

Sam couldn't help but fell a little unsure when he was told to set and let this young girl look at his busted lip. It wasn't like it was the first one he ever had, and it wasn't going to be the last. He didn't know anything about this girl before him, but his father had trusted her, and had let her clean him up. He would let her do what she felt she needed to do.

Gentle hands cleaned the blood away and it didn't take long for him to understand that she did indeed know what she was doing. Looking over to Dean, he could see that he was watching her like a hawk. Sam knew that he was still mad, but that wasn't going to stop him from being the over protective watchful big brother that he was.

"I'm not going to rip his lips off, you can stand down." Nikki said as if she was talking to a watch dog, and from what John had told her, he was just that. Looking up from Sam's cut lip, letting out a breath that she didn't even know that she was holding, she looked over to Dean.

"You know, your dad saved my life, he didn't have to but he did. We didn't talk all that much on the way here, but when he talked about you two, I could hear how much he loved you, how proud of you he was." She said, leaning back over to pick up what she was going to need to stitch the cut lip. "This is going to sting for a few minutes and it's going to feel like a little pinch." She said in a clam voice.

Knowing that talking while he was getting stitches in his lip wasn't the best idea, Sam just mumbled that he understood.

"Yeah, well he could have called to let us know that he was alright." Dean said, his temper had cooled down and he knew that he may have hell to pay latter when his father was feeling better. He knew he really flew off the hinges this time.

"I'm sure he has a good reason for not calling you. Keeping you safe seems to be on his top to-do list." She said, still focusing on her work. Once she was done with Sam, she walked into the kitchen and got some ice for his eye. When she was sure that she was done with him, she pointed to Dean and made a movement with her arm, telling him to sit down.

"I can tell that John isn't the kind of man to go around telling you what is on his heart much, and I'm sure it's safe to say that he didn't tell you both he loved you enough growing up, but his actions speak louder than any words could." She said, looking Dean right in the eye.

"Yeah and I bet that your father told you every day that you where his little angle and tucked you in every night with a kiss." Dean said trying to redirect. He didn't like that someone who he didn't even know, could see things so clearly about his family.

With a soft smile she couldn't help but nod to what Dean had said. "Your right, he did. He told me he loved me morning, noon, and night, and five times in between. And you know what, when I needed him most, when I needed him to tell me that everything was alright, he kicked me out of the house, called me a whore and slut. Told me that it was all my fault that I was raped, he told me that's what I got for dating older guys. But that doesn't matter right, because he told me that he loved me." She said. The tears where gliding down her cheeks but she did nothing to whip them away.

Knowing that she had work to do, she looked past the tears and saw that Dean didn't need anything stitch, just needed some ice. Turning to walk back to kitchen she made her way to get some ice.

Dean looked down and then turned to look at his little brother. They both felt awful and knew that they should have never over reacted. Hearing someone walk back into the room they both looked up to see their dad standing by the door.

"Once you're done, come into the living room." He said and then left.

"Here," Nikki said as she walked up to him, holding a bag of ice. "Hold this to help keep the swelling down." She said then started to pick up the mess she has made.

Standing up to walk to the other room, Sam stopped allowing Dean to get ahead of him. "Look I'm sorry, about this whole mess."

"It's ok, I understand that there is a lot going on. It's part of life." She said with a smile.

Sam couldn't understand how she could be so accepting of everything, but thought better then to question it right now.

It's didn't take her long to clean everything up, and she even washed the left over dishes in the sink. She knew that the men needed some time to talk everything out, and it would go a lot smother if she wasn't there. Once she cleaned the dish she heard boots walking up behind her and turned to see Bobby behind her.

"Uh, Sorry, I hope that you're not mad but I thought that I would just do the dishes while you all talked." She said, looking down.

Bobby couldn't help but give a small laugh, John was right, she did like to clean and keep busy. "Honey, I think that you and I are going to get along just fine."

Hearing his kind voice she couldn't help but look up and smile.

"Why don't you go get a shower or bath, whatever it is you girls like. I have Sam and Dean getting a room all set up for you. Once you had some rest I'll send the boys out to get some food." He told her. "Your room is going to be the one upstairs, right next to the bathroom. Sam already got your bag up there."

"Thank you." It seemed like she should have said more, but she hoped that he understood that she was truly thankful for what he was doing for her.

Without another word he left her, and she made her way up the stairs. Sam and Dean had just finished cleaning up the room and where walking out.

"Everything is clean and fresh." Sam said with a smile, as he walked out.

"Thank you." Again it felt like she should say more, but couldn't find the right words.

"Get some rest; you don't have to worry about anything creeping in this house. It's safer then Fort Knox." Dean said coming out of the room and headed down to the lower level. Sam followed.

Walking in she saw that everything was a little run down, but clean and it gave off a very homey feeling. Seeing her bag next to her bed, she walked over at sat down, only to hear that she sat on something. Standing up and turning to see what she had sat on, she picked up the yellow bag of peanut M&M's. Looking over the package she saw the word 'sorry' written in thick black marker.

AN: I wonder who left her the bag of M&M's? Again I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and I hope to hear what you all think about it so far.


End file.
